The Last Saint

I finally got to see this last night, on the big screen, ahead of some festival screenings. Gritty, intense and emotional, The Last Saint is a coming-of-age story set in New Zealand's criminal underworld, and it delivers an emotional punch that will stay with you for days. It tells the story of Polynesian teen Minka's (Koale) attempts to support his meth-addicted mother (Vaele). As a last resort he turns to his departed father, Joe (Tuteao), for help. Joe is a strip-club owner and drug dealer who gets his son a job with the a paranoid, psychotic drug dealer named Pinball, played by Joe Naufahu (the director's brother). Pinball is always amped and completely nuts, and a great antidote to the 'anti- hero/cool' drug dealers often portrayed in movies (even those who eventually get their comeuppance). In almost every scene he is shirtless and ripped, pumped and bopping to some hardcore EDM. The diverse soundtrack (not all EDM) is actually a positive feature of the movie, it drives the film, without falling into the trap of 'montage'.